.TH MS_BIGENDIANHOST 3 2004/11/22 "Libmseed API"
.SH NAME
ms_bigendianhost - Determine host computer byte order

.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
.B #include <libmseed.h>

.BI "int  \fBms_bigendianhost\fP ();"
.fi

.SH DESCRIPTION
\fBms_bigendianhost\fP is a run-time test of host computer byte order.
It is assumed that there are only two possible byte orders: Most
Significant Byte First (MSBF), i.e. big-endian, and Least Significant
Byte First (LSBF), i.e. little-endian.  No middle-endian schemes are
accounted for.

Binary quantities in SEED are commonly big-endian, but it is not
necessarily so.

.SH RETURN VALUES
\fBms_bigendianhost\fP returns 1 if the host is big-endian and 0 if
the host is little-endian.

.SH AUTHOR
.nf
Chad Trabant
IRIS Data Management Center
.fi
